


Shatterpoint

by AmazingGraceless



Category: Star Wars Legends, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Happy Endings For All, Mortis - Freeform, Multiverse, The Salt Is Strong With This One, Time Travel, anti tros, how it should have ended, i hate literally every script and treatment I’ve seen so far, kind of, the treverrow script is here too and i hate it, we’re going to mortis baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23311729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazingGraceless/pseuds/AmazingGraceless
Summary: Rey heard several myths and legends while waiting on Jakku. As she's beginning to find out, there's always a bit of truth in legends.
Relationships: Anakin Solo/Tahiri Veila (past), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rose Tico/Poe Dameron/Finn, Tahiri Veila/Jacen Solo
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey discovers the cracks in her very reality.

Rey left behind Leia and the rest of the Resistance in the lounge room of the _Falcon_. The last hope of the entire galaxy was contained in the legendary heap of junk. Despite Leia’s words, Rey wasn’t all that reassured.

Surely they’d need more if they were to stand against Ben. . .

Rey shook her head. There was no time for dreaming of what could have been. She had things to do. She sat down in the cockpit. Chewie was working on repairs in the engine room, but she wouldn’t need him for this.

A quick check on the transmissions decoder revealed that still no one had replied to Leia’s distress signal on Crait.

Not even New Alderaan.

Rey shook her head. If Leia could not get the others to fight with her, what chance did any of the rest of them have? What chance did she have?

She was no one, and Leia was a legend.

Rey checked the star map. They'd need to refuel after this— they couldn't make another hyperspace jump. Luckily, they were going to a planet that they were sure would be an ally.

Naboo.

Home to the General's mother, and to the man who had set all of this into motion.

Emperor Palpatine.

Leia claimed that she had inherited a property from her mother, after the truth was revealed to the Naberrie family. There, they would be able to stay and regroup. And the Naberries wouldn't be under fire for harboring them, since it no longer belonged to them anymore.

It was a short jump from Crait, too, which made it a better choice.

But seeing that map of the entire galaxy overwhelmed Rey. All of these systems expected her to fight for them. Luke Skywalker had warned her about the problem of becoming a legend.

Rey wasn't so certain that she would ever become one.

How could they ever fight Kylo Ren now?

Rey bit her lip. No one would see her cry here, see her mourn what could have been. Even if, as Luke had told her, she was a fool for believing it in the first place.

She tied her hair back into the full three-bun hairstyle. The one that her mother had done for her every day before she'd left.

Had she really left her to die as a slave to Plutt? That didn't sound right, her parents selling her for drinking money. After all, she remembered her parents. Little glimpses, like her mother doing her hair, or her father showing her how to carve little toy spaceships.

It made no sense.

But neither did what Rey thought was the answer before. That they had to leave her because she was special, or some bantha poodoo along those lines.

Rey shook her head. For all that had happened between them, she did have to admit that Ben was right about that. What happened with her parents had been holding her back.

Without the truth, as unbelievable as it was, her heart had been left in the sands of Jakku. She couldn't truly dedicate herself to the Rebellion, or to the Jedi.

Now she could.

But what a lonely life it seemed. Were there others out there, like her?

She'd only known one other. . .

Then, reality warbled a moment. Everything went blurry, then tightened into perfect clarity. She heard a hum in the Force, drowning out all other sounds until there was the ringing of silence.

The cockpit of the _Falcon_ darkened as she was being pulled somewhere else, a space in between the stars.

She knew this all too well, from their connections on Ahch-To.

But she didn't see the angled profile of Ben Solo. No, she saw someone else. He had Han's face, more than Ben did, and Leia's eyes— brandy-brown. His hair was the light brown of Han and Leia's, and he looked far younger and handsomer than Ben Solo

She knew his name, he felt familiar, in a way she could not explain.

"Jacen."

"Tahiri?"

At first, she was about to protest— but hearing her true name caused her to transform. Her blonde curls tumbled around her shoulders, she felt the phantom pain of three scars on her forehead, and her shoes were gone. She wriggled her toes, wincing at the phantom memory of the boots.

She looked back to him— and he spoke again.

"It is you."

She remembered the words from Starkiller Base. She had not understood what he meant then. She wasn't sure if he did, now. But now they both did.

"Anakin?" She clung to every second of him, breathless. "Where is he? Where is Anakin?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know anyone anymore. Ben, Anakin, Tenel Ka, Jaina— they're all gone."

"I remember things. . . Is it our fault, Jacen?" she asked.

"Because we used the Force to go back too many times," he admitted. "I thought it didn't change anything. . . "

"I did it," she said. "I can't remember what I did. . . But I know I did it."

Memories of two timelines flashed in her mind's eye. The only sure thing was that she had gone back, she'd gone back for Anakin, and something had went so wrong it had changed everything.

Now everyone was gone.

Her hands reached for her hair, expecting the texture of curls, but instead she pulled wispy brown tendrils out of her three buns. She looked down at her hands. She was Rey again.

"I- I- Jacen—"

But he was gone. As Jacen, as Ben. . .

"Rey?"

She turned to see Leia standing in the cockpit entrance. She seemed to be not entirely there. She'd been like that since Crait. She grabbed for her belt, as if for something hanging off it— but there was nothing there.

"Yes, General Organa?"

Leia blinked and looked up to Rey apologetically.

"Sorry, I thought— well, I'm not sure of anything anymore," she murmured, more to herself than to Rey. She then turned and walked away.

Rey shook her head. But when she looked around at hyperspace, she now saw something just beneath the surface of the world. The revelation of an old life, a new timeline. . . She could only see the fracture points, the shatter points.

Where she had shattered the timeline.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally decided to finish the original one-shot after the BS that was The Rise of Skywalker and seeing the even more BS drafts by Colin Treverrow and Dean Alan Foster. This is an edited version of the original one-shot from FFNet to add new information from all of those drafts, because they're all a part of the multi-verse now, baby. 
> 
> Before, I wouldn't write more because I find this to be an inherently sad concept. But I finally figured out how to give this a happy ending, so we’re doing it.


	2. Mirrorbright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Leia gives Rey a mission to save her broken heart.

It was a foolish naive girl's dream, but she'd dreamed of his kind of love between herself and Ben all the same. And she'd be lying if she said it didn't cut like a knife.

But she had work to do, and if there was anything that Jakku taught, it was how to put her own heart aside while she did what had to be done.

And that was exactly what she did.

Poe commanded everyone to follow him in, and Rey helped Chewie lock up the _Falcon_ for the night. When they came back in, what remained of the Resistance had gotten to work.

They raided the pantry, with Kaydel Ko Connix taking inventory, and Finn assigning places to sleep, and Beaumont Kin worked on securing the house as much as possible.

They would have much more to do in the coming days. They would need allies, to recruit.

Because of Leia's connection to the planet, Rey supposed this was a good place to start. They needed funds, ships, and a plan.

Those were what you needed to fight a war, right? To destroy the other side?

It was overwhelmingly daunting, like the sandstorms of Jakku during X'us'R'iia. Rey's head spun at the prospects. After all, she was the last Jedi. They would expect her at the front of this. Never mind that at the end of the day, she was no one, from nowhere and that she had no idea where to go from here.

Rey looked away from the rations Poe and Kaydel were distributing to a figure out on the dock. Leia, Rey realized as she took a quick headcount.

Rey slipped out of the house to follow the older woman. The night air felt cooler out here, time a little slower. This was the kind of place where one could recover and heal, isolated from the rest of the world.

When this was all over, Rey decided that she wanted to be here.

"I was wondering when you'd join me." Leia spoke with her back still turned to the Last Jedi.

"I didn't know you were expecting me."

Leia laughed. "I didn't. But I knew you'd come anyway."

The two of them looked out at the water. Rey heard the wildlife chirp— a white noise. Then Leia spoke again.

"I can see them now— I saw them after the Battle of Endor, you know."

"See what?"

Leia looked at Rey. "The shatterpoints. Places where time used to flow a little bit differently. Some things are the same. The Empire stuck around, Luke trained students— Luke trained me. Although he said I was crazy, he never saw them."

"You know about them?" Rey's mind was reeling. "I used to be someone else, in another world, didn't I?"

Leia frowned, and the name returned to her.

Rey pressed on. "My name was once Tahiri Veila, wasn't it?"

"That wouldn't surprise me." Leia twisted her ring. "I don't remember it, not like I think you and my son do. But I do see the glimpses of what could have been. Sit with me, will you?"

Leia then sat on a bench conveniently placed by the waterway. Rey felt she had no choice other than to oblige the old woman.

"I know that my Ben had a different name— Jacen. Ben was the name of Luke's kid, once— I don't know what in the stars made me think to use it," Leia mumbled. "And he wasn't my only kid. Jaina and Anakin."

"I remember them now." She could now see the faces, clear in her mind. Jaina Solo, with Han's smile. Anakin Solo— the love of her life, the one who had died so long ago. Ben Skywalker, the son of Mara Jade.

"I miss other things, too," Leia added. For the first time, Rey saw the older woman cry. "I miss Han. I miss my children. I miss Luke, being happy, I miss Mara and the Jedi—"

"It's alright, I'll put it all back to normal, how it's supposed to be," Rey assured her.

"No." Leia spoke with surprising forcefulness as she grabbed Rey's wrist. All tears were gone. "I remember what happened to my children there, too. What became of Jacen— dead, killed by his own twin, tortured and twisted. Leaving his poor daughter behind. Jaina, left all alone. And you know what happened to Anakin."

"I do." Rey placed a hand over her chest. It ached, to remember. She'd loved him, more than anything. He'd been half to her whole. But she felt someone else in that description now. . .

But who knew if that even had meant anything? After all, maybe it was just because they were the last remnants of the former timeline.

"Mara died, and my brother lost control of his academy," Leia continued. "I lost my second home, as did my children. We did not have a happy ending there, either. Chewbacca—"

"I remember all of it now." Rey did, the memories flooding back in a confusing medley. "What do you want me to do?"

Leia pulled the mother's ring off of her finger, gazing at it for a moment. "I want you to make things right."

She then placed the ring on Rey's index finger, and her eyes met Rey's.

In that moment, her eyes were no longer hazel, but the bright green of Tahiri Veila's.

"I'll do it. I'll save your children."

"Thank you."

It was as if a great burden had been taken off of Leia's shoulders. She sat back, closing her eyes. Then she vanished completely, leaving only her clothes and a heap of jewelry behind.

Princess Leia was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate the ending Princess Leia got in both of her timelines, with all or most of her children dead at young ages. It’s terribly sad and I despite it. I loved Jedi Leia with all my heart, too, so what we got in TROS felt like a punch to the stomach. She deserves better.


	3. Force Flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the funeral of Princess Leia occurs.

The Resistance didn't have the credits or time or land for a grave. Perhaps there would be time for all of that later, an empty tomb beside the ones reserved for Han Solo and Luke Skywalker when this was all over.

But they didn't do _nothing_ , however. Finn was the first to find the boathouse and an old wooden craft. They could no longer find any paddles or the like for it, so it was a good candidate. Jessika Pava then found some old sheets in Varykino and used them as a burial shroud.

Poe pushed the boat gently into the waters of the Lake Country. Rey used her lightsaber delicately to ignite the boat with a gentle flame to cremate her.

She would become ash, now. Just like her husband and all of Alderaan, the Princess was taken by the fire. Rey thought it a fitting end, for now at least.

As she stared at the flames drifting off into the dark horizon, she felt it again. The briefest of disconnection and disassociation before reality came screaming back, sharper and clearer than ever before.

But Rey didn't see him before she heard him.

"She's gone."

She turned to see him, not as Kylo Ren, but as a form of Jacen, crying.

"She's gone now, and it's my fault. I did this, I—"

"Let's talk somewhere else," Rey whispered, low enough for the others in the Resistance to not hear.

She gently pushed her way through the crowd, and made her way into a meadow behind the house. Surrounded by dozens of waterfalls, it was beautiful in the night. Rey suspected it would be even more lovely in the day.

This was the kind of place she'd dreamed of living all of those years on Jakku. In her other life, she recalled that Yavin IV was like that too. A miraculous world of life, as opposed to the desert sands of Tatooine.

When she and Ben— Jacen, she decided to call him now that she knew the truth— had recovered that flashback of her parents, she vaguely wondered if they were the same as before, the children of Jedi. Obviously their abandonment was different.

Before, they had no choice. Now— now they had chosen to leave her behind?

The changes she'd somehow made were so cruel, she wondered how much she truly had to do with it at all.

Rey sat in the grass. She still looked like this version of her— not the one from Before.

She kicked off her shoes. Might as well be comfortable.

Jacen reluctantly sat beside her in the grass.

"I never meant for all of this to happen," he finally said. "We made a real mess of it, haven't we?"

"I guess we did." Rey bit her lip. "Leia knew, before she died. She somehow knew what we'd done."

"She must have been so angry. . ."

"No, she forgave us for trying to put things right." Rey hesitated. She used to be so chatty— she could feel that part of herself struggling to resurface. "She wants us to try again, Jacen."

"Why?" Jacen swiped away his own tears. "We already tried to and ruined it. I don't even remember how to do what we did."

"Neither do I," Rey admitted. "But your mother made me swear we'd do it— it was her dying wish that I save all of her children— including you."

"Why me?" Some of Kylo Ren or Darth Caedus's presence returned to his face. It was a reminder that for all the tears and such now, that there was darkness in his soul. He'd done awful things. Not just to Rey, who had found forgiveness. But to other people.

"Because she loves you." It was as simple of an answer that could be given. "Because of that, she believes you can be saved from the dark path— if you choose it."

Rey hesitated before speaking again. There was a weight in her heart she had not felt for a long time. The kind that was accompanied by flutters and pining. She hadn't had feelings for anybody since Anakin.

A part of her thought it perverse that it was his brother of all people that she was beginning to care for again.

But it was the truth all the same.

"I believed you could, too, Jacen." Rey spoke with deliberation, desperately wanting to keep all of the pazaak cards close to the chest. "I still do."

"I thought it was too late, that you closed the door on that." His brown eyes watched her intently. He was seeking something in her— perhaps sincerity?

"I don't think I ever really can," she admitted. "I think, for how much we might be angry and hurt by each other, I don't think we can really ever shut down whatever this is."

She made a gesture indicating the connection between herself and Jacen.

"You can redeem yourself in both timelines," Rey continued. "Help me save us all and undo this mess. Create a happier ending for yourself. Others might not know what you did— but you will. And there, that's where you'll find redemption."

"You really think so?"

"I know so," Rey promised. "Think, you could see Allana again."

"My daughter," he whispered hoarsely.

Rey offered her hand. "Help me, Jacen Solo. We're the only hope for this galaxy."

He accepted it, and they stood.

"We'll meet somewhere where we can talk more," Jacen said. "Yavin IV, at the Massassi Temples."

"I'll meet you there." Rey's voice as soft as the wind as Jacen faded away.

That left her, standing alone in the clearing.

While everyone was preoccupied with the funeral, she packed supplies and left a note for the Resistance, one they could find in the morning. And after they went to sleep, she joined Chewbacca and Artoo in the _Falcon._

"Let's go home."


	4. The Journal of the Whills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey and Jacen learn exactly how they screwed up the timeline.

Rey was overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia as she set foot onto the jungle floor of Yavin IV. The smell of the plants and misty waters, the sound of everything being alive, the very feel of the place.

This was what she had dreamed of, what she had been reminded of when she first saw Takodana.

" **Are you sure Ben will meet us alone?"** Chewbacca asked as he stepped out with her.

"Yes." Rey had attempted to explain to Chewbacca about the timelines, but it hadn't quite gone through, she saw. Then again, she knew why he might not want to think about the other timeline all that much.

Did he know, or at least sense, his fate there?

She hoped not, for his sake.

It was one more thing to fix, one more soul to save.

"We've set up the rendezvous point, and I promised I'd bring the old texts." Rey checked her bag. Some of the pages had been torn or stained by the flock of porgs that had taken up residence inside of the _Falcon_. But they were all there.

Surely one of them could help them discover how to undo what they'd done.

Artoo rolled up beside her, whistling his approval, and also threatening Jacen if he tried anything to harm Rey.

"Thank you." She patted the astromech's head, and felt the reconstructed saber-staff where it was clipped to her belt. "But I can take care of myself. Always could."

That much, after all, was true.

She knew the routes like the back of her own hand. She started to run as she recognized the trees, the buildings, as memories of her old self came flooding back.

Yavin IV was where she had trained as a Jedi, under Corran Horn. Yavin IV was where she had made a home. Yavin IV was where she'd fallen in love with Anakin Solo, slowly and all at once.

Once she reached the Massassi temple, she pulled off her shoes. She closed her eyes, basking in the feeling of her bare feet against the cool stones once more. She'd forgotten why she'd once believed shoes to be the invention of the Sith.

She could feel a planet's heartbeat with her bare feet on the ground.

She then heard the sound of Kylo Ren's crossguard.

"I'm here, Jacen!"

Around the corner of a building, he stepped— Rey was disappointed to see him look like Kylo Ren again. But she supposed it was just as disappointing for him that she wasn't Tahiri anymore.

"I brought some of the ancient Jedi texts," Rey explained, and she set the bag down on the cool stone. "I thought we could start here."

"You retrieved the texts from Ahch-To— from the very first Jedi. . ." Jacen looked as if he could kiss her right then.

A part of Rey, however small that it was, wished he would.

"I guess we should get started, then." She sat down, and so did he. Artoo beeped his irritation and declared that he would search his files, because it was so stupid.

" **I'll guard the perimeter,"** Chewbacca said. " **There are dangerous things on this moon."**

Rey vaguely wondered if Exar Kun was still laid to rest here, or if the Massassi souls she and Anakin had freed were still here.

So much about time had changed. So many tragedies had come into the galaxy because of what they had done. Was it worth it?

She strained to remember what had happened— but Rey was growing more certain that she had been the one to ruin everything.

She knew she'd been trying to erase Anakin's death. But in the process, had she erased Anakin entirely?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Jacen's gasp.

"The old man had this the whole time?" He pulled the oldest-looking of the books out of the bottom. He ran his fingers reverently over the title carved into the leather.

"What is it?" Rey couldn't understand the old language.

"The Journal of the Whills," Jacen murmured.

"Is that like the Order of the Whills?" Rey asked. "They were on Jedha. . ."

"The original Whills would have written this," Jacen explained. "This. . . This is the oldest text of the Jedi, our entire history and future, allegedly."

"Could it—"

Jacen had already gotten onto her wavelength, and started flipping through the pages. He almost looked like Jacen proper, once again. It was interesting, watching how his hair color shifted, his entire features.

It was as if time itself was confused as to who he was supposed to be.

"It's here." Jacen pointed to a section.

Rey shook her head. "I can't read that. What language even is that?"

"I don't remember— besides, aren't you supposed to be really good at language?" Jacen added sharply.

"Spoken language, not written," Rey corrected. "I haven't done a lot of writing, alright? Just a little bit of Aubresh."

"Well, anyway, it must have been an accident, if that helps," he added. "We weren't supposed to be able to break the past— it wasn't supposed to change anything— I'm sorry about that, by the way. Force, I was an asshole by the end of that other time then, wasn't I?"

"You aren't that much better now." Rey shrugged— it was honest.

"I did it for Allana then," he said. "To save my daughter from becoming a dark queen of the galaxy— or something like that. It was really weird— like I had to screw up the galaxy even more to make it the kind of place I wanted my daughter to grow up in."

"To be fair, wasn't it Lumiya who showed you all of that?" Rey asked. Lumiya herself was a faint memory.

"Yeah, in retrospect, that should have been a huge red flag," Jacen admitted.

"Why did you do it this time?" Rey asked. She couldn't help herself. "Besides Luke trying to kill you?"

"I didn't burn down the Jedi Academy, if that's what you're asking." Jacen looked away from the page. "Ever since I was born, Snoke was in my head, this time. I was constantly fighting him— until someone, probably him, destroyed the Academy, and I felt like I had nowhere else to go."

"So you went to the voice that had always been there." Rey finally understood. Had she heard that very voice on Starkiller Base? She suspected she had— and worse, that Luke had heard it when she considered killing Ben Solo.

"It doesn't excuse it— but I have to fix this, all of this," Jacen finally said, looking back down to the page. "I had good intentions— maybe it's better if I never existed. No one was made happier in the end for knowing me."

"No! That's not true!" Rey said hastily, thinking of her own conflicted feelings.

Jacen looked back to her. For a moment, Rey wondered if he felt it too.

"I hurt you a lot, Rey," he reminded her. "Not here, but also in the other time. I used your grief, I— I'm sorry. You'd be better off if you never met me."

"What I meant was that that's not the right way to look at things." Rey prayed she wasn't blushing— now was not the time for such silly things and fluttering. "There are people who love you and loved you, no matter what— like your father. They deserve to remember you. And you deserve a second chance."

"Do I?"

Not so long ago, she might have agreed with his doubts. Maybe it was her own confusing heart clouding up her judgement. But then again, maybe it was illuminating the difference between right and wrong, in matters such as this.

"You do."

And that was the end of that, in her mind, anyway.

"Anyway, I don't know that we can undo it by ourselves," Jacen said as he read on. "But there is a place where we could. There's a temple at the top of the highest mountain of Mortis. There, we could change time."

"That's it?" Rey had to admit, that sounded suspiciously easy. "Where is Mortis?"

"It's beyond any of the galaxy I've known, or has ever been recorded, but the star map is here," Jacen said. "According to this, my grandfather made it there, once. They say the Ones, Force gods, live there. But Vader killed them all."

"Of course he did," Rey muttered. "Sounds like Vader."

"There's more recorded here," he added. "Vader saw what he would become, and it caused him such agony, the Daughter goddess took pity on him and erased his memories."

"So he was like Anakin," Rey muttered.

"More than he ever thought, given how much of this is true," Jacen said. "He deserves a second chance. Both Anakins."

"We all do," Rey said.

"Then we'd better get going." Jacen stood and offered a hand to Rey. She slung the bag over her shoulder and accepted.

"Let's go, then."

"Not just yet."

They turned to see Finn, Rose, and Poe staring at them, all three holding blasters.


	5. Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Finn, Rose, and Poe join the party.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” Rey immediately winced. She wished her compulsive chattiness hadn’t returned so quickly.

“Really?” Poe looked to Rose and Finn, confused. “Because I thought you were having an affair with Kylo Ren—“

“Force, no—“ Rey’s cheeks turned red. “This really isn’t what it looks like.”

“Well, then what are you doing?” Rose asked, lowering her blaster.

“We’re trying to end the war,” Jacen explained. “To end all wars.”

“Sounds like lover talk to me,” Poe muttered.

“You’re the Supreme Leader of the First Order,” Finn reminded him, still keeping his gun trained on Jacen’s head with perfect accuracy. “You could end this on your own whim if you wanted.”

Jacen looked remorseful. “Believe me, I could if I would. Others like Hux are too powerful, too war-hungry.”

“Besides, this isn’t official,” Rey added. “Not that it matters. This is about balance to the Force. I’m not sure you’d understand.”

“Try me, Rey,” Finn said. “I’m your best friend.”

Rey hesitated a moment. But it was the truth. And like with Jacen and Leia, there was a little thread of familiarity, another shatterpoint forming as she looked upon her friend once more.

“There used to be another timeline, Finn,” Rey began. “Kylo Ren was Jacen Solo, he had a twin sister and a little brother. Luke’s Jedi was the full return we’d hoped would come. I was one of his students’ students. The galaxy was a better place than it was now.”

Small flashes were coming back. “I was in love with Leia’s son— Anakin Solo. But he died in a war, with a race from beyond this galaxy.”

“The war changed all of us.” Jacen joined in, and offered Rey his hand, a show of support. Rey hesitated before taking it— for it was Jacen’s hand now, not Kylo Ren’s. “I became a Dark Lord of the Sith to save the galaxy.”

“He then taught me how to time travel, to save Anakin,” Rey said. “I. . . I messed something up. I shattered everything after Endor. We can’t fix it by ourselves. But we can go to a place where we will gain the power to.”

“Mortis,” Poe whispered.

“You’ve heard of it?” Rey raised her eyebrow.

“I grew up with a Force tree, a Jedi legend, in my own backyard, here!” Poe cried. “My mother, she told me the stories. Mortis is the origin of the Force, she said. Where time and space became one with the Force.”

“I don’t believe it,” Finn said. “That’s crazy.”

“Finn, you can feel the Force,” Rey said. “I can feel it— you’d make a great Jedi— and I think you did, in the other timeline.”

“What?”

“Search your feelings, Finn.” Rey reached out herself, giving her friend a gentle nudge, an awakening. “Can’t you feel it? Can’t you remember?”

Finn closed his eyes and lowered his blaster. He was quiet for several moments.

“Finn?” Rose looked up at him, concerned.

“I had a family.” He did not open his eyes. “I was a Jedi Knight. My name was Finn there, too.”

He opened his eyes, and a tear trickled down his cheek. “I was Finn Galfridian, Prince of Artorias. I know that system, that planet— they killed the king, the royal family, the First Order stole children—“

“I’m so sorry, Finn,” Rose murmured.

“That is why we’re going to Mortis together.” Rey looked to Jacen. “So we can make this right. So we can make all the things right.”

“Then let me come with you,” Finn declared. “Let me help restore my name and throne.”

“Don’t forget us,” Poe added.

“It’s not like you have much of a choice— we did stow away,” Rose said.

“Of course,” Rey said immediately. “We will all get happy endings this time.”

“No matter what it takes.” Jacen’s voice was grave.

“No matter what it takes,” they all repeated.

Then Rey signaled Chewbacca, who came out of the trees, and Artoo, who used his little jets to hover over a log.

“Let’s go then,” she declared.

They re-entered the Falcon and were quick to take their positions in the cockpit.

Chewbacca acquiesced his seat as co-pilot to Jacen.

“It belongs to you.”

Jacen nodded and silently accepted, sitting down gingerly. His brandy-colored eyes looked over the controls, and his expression changed to one of childlike glee.

“I’d almost forgotten,” he murmured. He turned to Rey, still grinning. “Ready to fly?”

Apparently, she had a thing for flyboys— after all, who didn’t like Poe— and this one made her heart secretly sing.

“Ready.” She started the liftoff sequence. Jacen moved alongside her, as if they were the same person, operating out of two bodies— perfectly in sync.

Once they reached the atmosphere, she punched in the coordinates Jacen translated. She felt giddy as she pushed the button and entered hyperspace. She grinned at everyone— and they all smiled back, beginning to dream of their second chances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for Finn being Finn Galfridian is not new or original. In fact, there was a bunch of theories after a TV listing somewhere mixed up the characters. So I decided it would work here. Especially because Finn being a Jedi was foreshadowed in TFA and I do empathize with those who were robbed. And the portrayal of it in TROS was botched, just like everything else, it seems.


	6. Mortis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey finds herself in sinister company.

When they leapt out of hyperspace, they were greeted with a blinding light. This had to be wrong, Rey thought. They were about to fly into the heart of a star—

She tried to pull out, when Jacen placed a hand over her wrist.

“This matches the texts,” he promised. “We’ve got to go through the light.”

Rey tried to shield her eyes as the light enveloped them, but it pervaded even her closed eyelids, took over the inside of the cabin.

The light seemed impossibly long— but when the rest of the world returned, Rey was dangling from the restraints. She looked around— the others were unconscious and in a similar position.

Rey hit the button to release the restraints, and fell onto the viewport of the _Falcon_. It was pointed at green grass and jewel-like flowers. Rey had not seen such things before. But more importantly, it meant that the _Falcon_ had crashed.

“Jacen?” She tried to rouse him. “FInn? Rose? Poe?”

No response.

“Chewy?”

The Wookiee stayed unconscious. Only Artoo was awake.

[Here we go again], the droid beeped.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rey asked.

But Artoo refused to divulge that.

“Alright then.” Rey climbed out of the cockpit, and crawled out the exit ramp. It had been lying against a cliffside, it seemed, and several trees had been felled in the crash.

As Rey climbed to her feet, she noticed something peculiar. The trees were those of an autumnal season on a planet like Takodana or Naboo.

Red and gold and brown, the leaves coated the ground in a magnificent carpet. But when Rey turned to see the lower part of the ground, where her ship had landed, she saw what was the height of spring. Green everywhere, flowers on the ground and the tree, and strange animals that she did not quite recognize.

Where am I?

“Welcome to Mortis— my humble home.”

She whirled around to see a strange man standing behind her— one who had most certainly not been there before. His voice echoed, like several versions of him were speaking at once. As pale as the salt on Crait, his face was streaked with red like the dirt beneath. His eyes were black, with glowing red pupils, and wore an intricately-designed crimson and black robe.

Rey drew her repaired version of Luke’s lightsaber. “Who are you?”

“A friend.” The man smiled. “There is no need for these aggressions, my dear. I have simply forgotten my manners. It has been a long time since anyone has visited my home.”

“You live here?” Rey had not recalled Jacen mentioning any inhabitants besides the gods his grandfather had killed.

“I have for quite some time,” the man confirmed. “Why have you sought out this place?”

“We’re looking to get to the temple at the top of the highest mountain,” Rey explained. “Me and my friends— but my friends need help, I think they were injured in the crash.”

“I will help your friends,” the man promised. “You may stay in my cathedral for the night— for it is coming soon, and the hike to the tallest mountain is long.”

Rey felt some relief. “Thank you.”

The man then lifted up the _Falcon_ in the air with a simple gesture. He set it down upright, and then snapped his fingers. All of the trees around them glowed and a canopy of orange showered all around them.

“Your friends should be waking up now,” the man said. He then gestured for Rey to go in.

Rey hesitated. “What is your name?”

“I was once known by many titles, the most common being the Son,” the man said. “You may call me Bogan.”

The autumnal air hit a little bit colder than Rey expected. She nodded all the same.

“Thank you, Bogan.” The name felt strange on her tongue.

She then entered the _Falcon_ just as the others were waking up.

“Rey? What’s happening?” Rose asked sleepily.

“We found it, we found Mortis,” Rey said. “We crashed— but a man, Bogan— he helped us, and he says he’ll help us find the temple tomorrow, and will give us a place to spend the night.”

Poe unbuttoned his restraints. “Did he now?”

“He healed you, you weren’t waking up,” Rey said. “We probably shouldn’t keep him waiting too long.”

“I hadn’t realized anyone was still alive on Mortis,” Jacen murmured as he took the bag of texts. “The descriptions in the Journal of the Whills makes the place out to be completely uninhabited.”

“He said he’s been alone for some time.” Rey was starting to realize how suspicious that sounded. “Well, I didn’t have other options.”

“That’s true,” Finn admitted. “And I’m not about to get into any arguments with the one person that lives here.”

“I just have a bad feeling about this.” Rose shook her head.

When they left the _Falcon_ , the sun was beginning its descent, despite that Rey was certain it had been the height of afternoon when they landed.

“So these are your friends,” Bogan murmured. “How interesting. I suspect dinner will be fascinating.”

* * *

Rey opened the doors to the closet in her room. They’d all received the rather forceful suggestion to “freshen up” from Bogan. Rey wasn’t about to argue, even if Rose’s bad feeling was starting to catch up with her.

Inside was a pink sari with golden embroidery and an orange dress that looked more like what Padme Amidala would wear. Something about the garment was familiar, and gave Rey a feeling of dread.

She put it on all the same. There did not appear to be other choices.

As soon as she was finished changing, she heard a knock on the door. She clipped her lightsaber to the delicate golden chain belt, and opened the door to see Jacen in front of her.

“Is that Hapan mensware?” Rey recognized it, from the space pirates that sometimes came to Niima Outpost.

“It’s the kind that I wore to Tenel Ka’s coronation,” Jacen remembered. “We thought it would be Jaina’s, before then. It was weird.”

“A lot of things seem to be,” Rey muttered. “I feel like I’ve seen this dress before, but I don’t know where.”

“Neither do I.” Jacen sighed. “Chewy returned to the ship to start repairs. Finn, Rose, and Poe are already waiting in the dining room.”

“I hadn’t meant to take so long,” Rey said.

“It’s alright.” Jacen offered a hand down. “You look nice.”

“So do you.” Rey blurted out the compliment before she could stop herself. She really did not want to confront her feelings at the moment— or ever.

She’d done all of this for Anakin. So it felt like a betrayal to suddenly find herself falling for his own brother. Even if they had a strange connection where Rey felt like they were two parts of the same soul. Even if she and Anakin had never had that exact kind of Force bond— a dyad, the Jedi texts had read.

* * *

A dinner of all of the finest foods Rey could have dreamed of were laid on a long table, where Bogan sat at the head.

“Finally, the dyad has arrived,” Bogan said.

Jacen’s hand gripped hers more tightly. She knew exactly what he was thinking.

Bogan should not have known about their nature.

In fact, more and more was starting to become suspicious. But she supposed there was no way around it. After all, this was their guide to the temple, where they would be able to fix it.

Rey smiled politely. “Thank you.”

Jacen held onto her hand as they sat next to each other. Rey regarded the food with sudden suspicion. Was it poisoned?”

“Do eat, I suspect you’ll like it,” Bogan added. “Now tell me, why do you wish to go to the temple? There is the supposed life force of the universe. What would you want with that?”

“To fix what has been broken,” Jacen declared.

“To save everyone,” Finn added.

“Everyone?” Bogan raised his eyebrows. “Life is marked by suffering. Not everyone can be saved. And not everyone should be saved.”

Rey was uncomfortable at how his eyes lingered on Jacen.

“We have to try.”

Everyone looked to Rose. In a gorgeous blue dress, her hair braided elaborately, she was stunningly fierce, even though her expression was tender.

“That’s how we win.” Rose looked among the rest of the party. “Not by destroying what we hate— but by saving what we love. Who we love.”

“An interesting thought.” Bogan raised a goblet. “One for a fairytale, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Not one for modern times such as these, for the end times.”

“These are not the end times,” Poe snapped.

“Are you sure?” The red glow of Bogan’s pupils seemed more sinister as he leaned into the table. “All these losses and for nothing? That no one will come to the aid of Princess Leia, the last of the House of Alderaan?”

“She is not the last.” Jacen spoke up. “And we’re not easily dissuaded. You will take us to the temple.”

“Be careful what you wish for, young Solo.” And that was all that Bogan had to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that the Son doesn’t have a canon name, but I decided on this one because it was Lucas’s name for the Dark Side, and I thought it would be an interesting idea if his sister was also Ashla, the Light. The Son just didn’t feel like an appropriate moniker anymore, given his father is dead.


	7. The Temple

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our party takes a hike and realizes that their host is not good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for brief and sanitized mentions of eye-gore. I tried to clean up that part of the Treverrow script as much as possible, but I am still referencing it, so be aware.

Rey did not sleep well that night. Tossing and turning, she was in and out of consciousness, with her dreams, brief as they were, flashes of nightmares.

_—she tried to run after the ship, but Plutt’s meaty hand had a good grip on her bony little arm._

_“Come back!” She screamed. “NO!”_

_“Quiet girl—“_

_—why had she said something stupid? “You’ll have to come back for that.” Those were the last words she’d ever said to him. She’d taunted fate, and how had he felt, knowing that she refused to kiss him once last time—_

_—why was he saying these things? The side of her head burned, and there was a metallic taste in the air. He was calling her a monster, in a horrifying role-reversal. He loved her, she thought—_

_—she screamed, falling onto the steps, so close to their goal. She couldn’t see, she was bleeding—_

_—he died. He died to save her, their last kiss on her lips, haunted by the memory of his smile—_

It was early in the morning when Rey had decided to give up on the idea of sleep altogether. When she opened the door to her wardrobe, she saw one outfit— hooded and white, it looked just like what she wore on Jakku.

It was exactly what she wore in her last nightmare, the one that frightened her the most. It had because it was the most real, the most vivid of all of them.

She pushed around, looking for something else— anything else— even her old clothes. But not even the sari was still in the room. Even though no one had come in or out in the night. At least, not when Rey was awake.

She reluctantly got dressed, slung her staff over her shoulders, clicked off the safety of her blaster, and polished her lightsaber.

As for her hair. . .

She decided not to tempt fate. In all of them, she’d been wearing her hair in three buns.

She instead left it down, like she used to when she was Tahiri Veila. Besides, she could just part of it up like she did when she went to meet Kylo Ren and kill Snoke on the Supremacy, should it get in her way.

Satisfied with her appearance, she exited her room into the hallway. There, Jacen was waiting— and he looked more like Jacen. He was even wearing Darth Caedus’s triangular-plated armor.

“You too?” Jacen asked, looking her up and down. “Can’t say I like the clothing choices here?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling about all of this.”

They turned to see Finn, Rose, and Poe at the end of the hallway. They all wore the tan cloth and leather ensembles that archaeologists on Jakku wore. And Rey was certain she had seen those clothes in one of the bad futures, in her dreams as well.

“I guess we should get started,” Finn said. “You said Bogan, that he’d help us?”

“I am here to assist you on your hike.”

Everyone whirled around to see Bogan watching them.

“I am sorry to hear that your clothing is not to your desire,” he said, although Rey detected a hint of a smirk on his face. “I still have much to learn, I’m afraid. I have only recently become master of this house.”

“What happened to the previous master?” Rey asked.

“Old age.”

Rey somehow suspected there was more to the story than that.

“Come, come, the journey to the top of the highest mountain is treacherous, and it will take the entire day.” Bogan placed a hand both on Jacen and Rey’s shoulders. “We should begin, shouldn’t we?”

It was all Rey could do to nod. She exhaled sharply as he let go. Her skin felt cold where he had touched her, despite that he had been wearing gloves.

She exchanged a look with Jacen— what had she gotten them into?

* * *

Indeed, Bogan was not lying about the length of the journey. Despite the fact that the sun had not risen when they began their hike up the small ledges of steps, similar to the Jedi steps on Ahch-To, the sun was beginning to set as they neared the summit.

They stopped for a moment, each sitting on one step where the path had widened.

“I apologize that the path has not been well-maintained,” Bogan said. “I am still learning how to live up to my father’s reign of this world.”

“Reign?” Poe raised his eyebrows. “What about the gods that lived here?”

“Gods?” Bogan seemed to be tasting the word. “What a delicious idea. Unfortunately, there are no gods here. Some would say there never were.”

Jacen raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Rose then looked to Finn. “Do you remember anything about the other world?”

“Bits and pieces,” Finn admitted. “Why?”

Rose hesitated, and looked back to Poe. “Did we exist there, too? Me and Poe? And were the three of us together then, like we are now?”

“Oh.” Finn looked back in sad horror. “I don’t think so.”

“I don’t think we existed in that world.” Poe looked to Jacen and Rey. “Did we?”

“It’s hard to say,” Jacen said. “It’s all mixed up here. But I don’t think if you did, that we ever met.”

“You can fix it and keep us, too, right?” Rose looked to Finn desperately. “Right?”

Finn took her hand. “I’ll do everything can. That’s part of what we promised, right? To save what we love, no matter what it takes.”

“An admirable sentiment, although I do wonder how you think the changing of space and time will work?” Bogan asked. “Indeed, it is a tricky business. You might very well cause another tragedy like your dear friend Tahiri did.”

“She never told you that name,” Rose realized.

“And I do remember the stories about the Ones— you’re old,” Poe said. “And I remember now, from the rebels on Lothal— you’re the Son, the embodiment of the dark side—“

With that, Poe and Rose collapsed on the steps, unconscious.

Finn drew his blaster on Bogan. “Whatever you did to them, undo it! Undo it now—“

“I don’t think you want me to do that,” Bogan said. “If you do not accompany me to the temple, I can. . . “

As he trailed off, Poe and Rose’s body started levitating to the edge of the mountain path.

“I don’t trust anything you say,” Finn said. “You killed your father, didn’t you?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t have the pleasure, but I certainly was a factor.” The Son grinned like a fjark shark. “Now will your friends survive this encounter, or will they discover the height of this mountain themselves?”

“Finn,” Rey whispered, placing a hand on his arm. “Trust me.”

She was already thinking about how to get them out of this mess that she’d consigned them all to.

She had to— Rose and Poe didn’t deserve this.

“Fine.” He put his blaster in his holster and put his hands up. “Fine. Just don’t hurt them.”

“Better.”

Rose and Poe sank gently onto the steps, far from the ledge.

Then reluctantly, Rey, Jacen, and Finn followed Bogan up the rest of the steps.

Right as Rey stepped on the first part of the temple proper, a simple step, she cried out.

From another timeline, she could feel it— her eyes, swiped at with a lightsaber. She stumbled— but Jacen was there to catch her.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“The shatterpoints are getting stronger,” Bogan answered. “You may be so lucky as to experience what might and still could happen here, in due time.”

“What happened here?” Finn asked.

Bogan looked pointedly at Rey.

“I insisted on coming here alone, to fight Kylo Ren.” Rey looked to Jacen. “You took a sight with a stroke of your lightsaber.”

Jacen looked as if he was going to be sick.

“You wanted to prevent the bad ending, didn’t you?” Bogan gestured for them to walk forward. “Time is running out.”

Rey pushed herself away from Jacen, and was the first to enter the Temple of Time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In order, Rey’s dream is referencing her vision from TFA, the events of Star by Star from Legends, Dean Alan Foster’s treatment for Episode IX, Duel of the Fates, and The Rise of Skywalker.


	8. The Heart of the Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey discovers that she and Ben Solo were never meant to have a happy ending in any universe.

Inside the stone temple were three areas, all marked by the large floating stone triangles hovering over them in midair. The runic carving on the floor glowed white, ignited by the beam in the center of the room.

Behind that beam was a hallway, leading further into the building. To the left was a fountain with glowing crimson water, and on the right was a pool glowing a serene turquoise. Both radiated a powerful Force energy. Rey could feel the strange waters calling to her, softly beckoning.

“Where can we fix the shatterpoints?” Rey asked.

“You fool.” Bogan laughed, and a stone door invisible to the outside slammed closed behind them. Jacen and Finn rushed to try and open it— but it was no use. They were entombed with the Son.

“Did you really think I was going to let you waltz in and break the universe again?” The Son laughed. “I have no desire to change this world— I have survived this time, thanks to you, Kira Rey.”

Rey nearly choked. The name was familiar. She knew now was most likely not the time— but old mysteries died hard. She couldn’t stop her longing for the truth. She hadn’t stopped herself on Ahch-To, and she wouldn’t now.

“Is that my name, in this time?” Rey asked. “All of it?”

“You carry many names.” He turned his back to her, and strolled towards the beam of light. With a swipe of his hand, it turned bright red, and the temple turned cold. “And many origins. The Jedi, the Sith, treasure-hunters and indeed, mad doctors with new technology. Solana, Palpatine, Veila— what does it matter?”

The Son then turned around, his red pupils gleaming wickedly. “After all, in the end, you are always _alone_.”

Rey gritted her teeth. She would not cry, even as his final word felt like a dagger of ice, plunged into her heart. She clutched the hilt of her saber more tightly.

“What do you want?” Rey demanded.

“Once, long ago, we were not the Ones,” the Son said, turning around again. He ventured towards the fountain. “We were powerful with the Force, and had been lucky to live on a world that was so in-tune with it— the very origin of the galaxy. Our father was the caretaker of this place, as his father had been before him.”

Rey looked back at Finn and Jacen— let him talk— we’ll make a plan.

She then looked back to the Son as he stopped in front of the fountain. He appeared to be pondering the water. Rey mentally sized him up. If it weren’t for the threat of Rose and Poe outside, she would have believed the three of them could take him.

But they couldn’t endanger their friends.

“My sister, Ashla, and I, we grew up exploring this planet,” Bogan continued. “We were told this place was the only part of the planet forbidden to us. Naturally, as children, we disobeyed. I chose to drink from the Font of Knowledge— and my dear sister, she chose to bathe in the Pool of Knowledge.”

The Son turned, and Rey sensed regret and sorrow. “That was when we became the Ones— Gods of the Force. Our father, when he saw what we had done, sought a mother for us— a frail mortal woman who was called Abeloth.”

Rey had heard that name before, in ghost stories on Jakku. She was the monster Corellian parents told their kids about, who supposedly lurked in their night cosmos.

“We loved her, but she was afraid,” the Son continued. “Afraid we would realize someday that she was too frail for us, decide we did not love her, for how can the stars love a mere insect?”

“I remember the story,” Jacen said. “Abeloth bathed and drank— and she was locked away in Centerpoint Station, because she became a monster.”

“You freed her once,” the Son added. “You could do it again.”

Jacen shook his head. “I won’t.”

“Patience.” Bogan chuckled. “We aren’t to the end of this story yet. . . And you may change your mind. For you see, when Skywalker came here, he was the reason my sister died, that my foolish father—“

He broke off, in raw emotion. “I have no family anymore. But I do not have to remain here alone. Not if I have those willing to become a part of my new family.”

“So that’s your plan?” Finn raised his eyebrows. “Turn us into your new brothers and sister, and then go free Abeloth?”

“It is a simple plan.”

“No, we have families.” Jacen drew the crossguard. “We’re not going with you— you’re going to take us to the Heart of the Galaxy—“

With that, he went flying into the air, and writhed— unable to scream.

The Son clucked his tongue. “Solo and Organa blood is stubborn. I was afraid he might not be able to be reasoned with. We shall see.”

He then looked to Rey with a horrible, pointed glare.

“I would not be so bad for family, Rey,” he said. “After all, in every world you are alone. I know how desperate you are for a connection. Your parents— they always did abandon you. I would not.”

“And you would take my freedom,” Rey said. _Stay strong._

“We could become a part of a dynasty, we could make sure no child is abandoned again, that no child grows up to be no one from nowhere,” Bogan continued. “You could have everything you ever wanted— a home, food— and him.”

“Anakin wouldn’t want this.” Rey knew that now. About so many of her choices. She had changed— and not for the better. But she had a second chance now.

“I’m not talking about Anakin Solo.”

A chill went down Rey’s spine. She knew what he was going to say before he spoke— and so did Finn, who looked to her wildly.

“Don’t tell me—“

“It seems in many worlds, for some reason, you fell for Kylo Ren.” Bogan’s voice was calm, but taunted her still. “The man who captured you on Takodana, pushed into your mind, pushed you into a tree, even! Your first love’s own brother! A Sith Lord!”

Rey flinched with every word. She knew it was all true— and it sounded horrible, all dragged out like that. She had no illusions as to who and what Jacen Solo was. And yet she found herself mentally protesting, that it wasn’t like that—

“Seriously?” Finn looked a little sick. “Really Rey?”

“Oh, it is such a tangled web,” the Son laughed. “I do not understand your doomed infatuation, and yet it plays out so many times. Never happily.”

She could hear Jacen starting to speak, trying to push past the pain she could faintly sense through their bond.

“What are you talking about?” Rey asked.

“Surely you know.” Bogan then slammed Jacen to the floor. “He calls you a monster for your droid brain, and you have to kill him, knowing the man you loved is inexplicably changed. Or he dies, killed by his own twin sister trying to save the woman and child he has always loved more than you. Or he drains your life after blinding you, and dies. Or he dies for you, a life for a life, to resurrect you. And you are always alone.”

In a flash, Rey could see it all— and she was so emotionless, so stoic in all of them. She and Jacen seemed like sick puppets of their original selves, so hollow, so heartless.

“And you, Finn of Artorias.” Bogan switched to her friend. She wanted to reach out, take his hand, to know that at least she could have some connection, some reassurance. “You are alone, too, in so many of these unhappy endings. You throw away what you love, and for what? That fear, that the war will take them?”

Finn closed his eyes, and Rey knew that Bogan was doing the same thing— showing all of the possible futures.

“Your kingdom is doomed, too.” Bogan approached Finn. “Taken by the Vong. Conquered by the First Order. In many worlds, you never realize what you have lost and you never have anything to gain. You leave your brothers and sisters in captivity to kill and slaughter for a faceless evil.”

Finn’s eyes opened. “And I would never be able to fix that— not if I join you.”

Then he raised his blaster and fired at the Son. The blaster bolt went through him, light a ghost, and the Son reached his gloved fingertips to Finn’s forehead.

“Finn!” Rey cried as her friend crumpled to the ground. She knelt beside him. “What have you done?”

“I can see that I will get nowhere with him,” the Son declared. “He has too strong of a will, too brave of a heart for me to break him in any way.”

The Son then turned to Jacen, who managed to finally get to his feet.

“As for this one. . .”

“Save it, I’m not interested,” Jacen snarled.

“I think you will be.” Jacen’s lightsaber shattered. “For in every universe, you die, a traitor to all you once held dear, hated by all, including those you loved. You even kill your beloved Rey, or try to— all love lost for those you once cared deeply about. You become the monster every prophecy decreed you would be.”

“Not this time.” Jacen shook his head. “I’ll do everything in my power—“

“And yet, you make that vow only to break it.” The Son laughed. “Don’t you understand? You were _never_ meant to have a happy ending.”

Rey tried to wake Finn— but she couldn’t. He was another hostage, like Rose and Poe.

Jacen faltered, and the Son started circling him. “You were always second best. To your sister, to your little brother. He had the great destiny, the greater power, the love of the girl.” The Son then nodded at Rey. “And only when he was gone, did they expect you to become a great hero when you were really a broken man.”

Jacen’s eyes simmered with rage. “He was my little brother! I don’t care about anything that you’re talking about— I just want him back!”

And yet Rey could sense that the Son’s words were starting to chip away at the both of them. There was no way they could fight him, and save their friends.

_Unless. . ._

She could feel that secret bond coming into existence again, the very clarity of reality.

_It could work._

There was reluctant caution in Jacen. But they were running out of options.

“Stop!” Rey stood, mentally praying for Finn to hold on, that they’d save him, and everyone else.

The Son looked to her with more amusement than actually taking her seriously.

“We’ll do it.” Rey exchanged a glance with Jacen. He nodded gently.

“You mean it.” The Son was surprised. “I will finally have a family again.”


	9. Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the entire party fights for a future they believe in, even if they cannot see it.

Rey walked toward the Pool of Wisdom like she was in a trance or a dream. Her heart pounded, her fingertips felt numb. This was her destiny— she could feel it.

At the same time, Jacen went for the Font of Knowledge. They shared a glance as they stood before the waters of destiny.

 _Everything is going to be alright,_ he seemed to say.

 _It will._ She wanted to say those words, let her passion will it into every atom of the galaxy. They would get their happy ending.

But that didn’t stop the fear. Merely muted it, so that it wasn’t paralyzing in the face of all that had to be done.

Then Rey jumped. Engulfed by the glowing blue waters, it was not like the ocean in the cave, in Ahch-To.

No, she was calm, serene.

There was no emotion, there was peace.

There was no ignorance, only knowledge.

There was no passion, there was serenity.

There was no chaos, there was order.

There was no death.

There was _the Force._

When she emerged, she could feel Jacen’s own whirling emotions as he wiped his mouth of stray droplets. Strength from passion, conviction from emotion, the chaotic and quick thoughts they would need to defeat the Son.

Their bond was even stronger now— their souls felt entwined, each body an extension of the same mind, a complete person between two halves.

A dyad in every sense of the word.

It reminded Rey of how being with Anakin used to feel. But that was different— like two parts that were complete on their own, combining to create a bigger whole.

This was like coming home to the other half of her soul.

“Yes, excellent,” the Son said as they approached. “We will make quite the family, won’t we? And we can do exactly as we please, over and over, resetting the galaxy for our own amusement—“

Emerald lightning sprang from Rey’s hand.

 _Emerald Judgement,_ she could hear Jacen mentally cataloguing the power. _Luke discovered it— a form of Force lightning with no emotion, but pure justice._

The Son was caught off-guard and went sprawling back, crying out.

Rey could feel all the lives, the balance around her. It was as easy as blinking to wake Finn, Poe, and Rose. She flicked her wrist and the door to the Temple opened.

Bogan returned to his feet, regarding Jacen and Rey with a new interest— and determinedly less amusement.

“You are starting anew a cycle that will continue and continue, brother against sister, and then the last will die and be alone until he feels he will die of it, and cannot! And then you will understand my choices!”

He then lifted both Jacen and Rey into the air, their very life-forces being drained from them.

Then Finn, Rose, and Poe all shot him in the back with their own individual weapons. Rose then drew her prod.

Jacen and Rey fell to the ground, and it didn’t take long to recover their strength.

Before the Son could retaliate against the trio, Jacen froze Bogan. Then he lifted the Son into the air with a clenched fist. Red-lightning darted from the Son’s fingertips, but it was clear that he was in pain.

Then the Son fell to the floor again.

Jacen looked to Rey. “There’s a way to defeat beings of pure darkness, like him.”

“Won’t it destroy you, since you drank from the Font?” Rey asked.

“It won’t hurt me, because of our bond,” he assured her. “Not if I carry you in my heart.”

“What is it?” Rey asked as the Bogan rose.

“The Wall of Light!” Poe shouted.

“We’re going to need all the help we can get,” Finn determined.

Jacen nudged at the minds of Rose and Poe, unlocking sparks of Force-sensitivity that had gone un-nurtured in them. The Force had awakened in all of them now— and it was strong.

Finn then started the Wall of Light, and it spread, from Rose, to Poe, to Jacen, and then finally Rey, creating a barrier all around the Son.

Then they pushed, closing in on him as he was forced to retreat into the center beam of red light in the temple.

A part of Rey still felt sorry for him when the light closed in completely, and he died wailing in agony.

It was over. There was no barrier now, to changing the past and the future.

“Is that it?” Rose pointed to the tunnel at the end of the Temple.

“The Heart of the Galaxy,” Poe confirmed. “These were in all the old stories about Mortis. That’s where we’ll be able to end this war, and all wars.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Finn asked.

He, Rose, Poe, and Jacen started to walk off. But a sad fear crept into Rey’s mind. The connection to Jacen was fading and dimming, as if trying to break it to her gently, what was about to happen.

It wasn’t fair, she decided. She would have Anakin again— but she would always remember this, remember her connection to Jacen and wonder what could have been.

She’d been through that with Anakin. But it seemed Jacen, through their travels in time, had allowed her to move on from that sorrow and come to appreciate what time she did have with Anakin.

And now she would mourn again— and no one would understand.

She couldn’t help it— she started to cry at the thought of all of this.

She was a fool to expect a perfectly happy ending. And she’d tried so hard to keep herself from becoming entangled like this.

Finn, Rose, and Poe had already made it into the misty tunnel. But Jacen had not completed his journey, and he stopped.

“Tahiri— it’s going to be okay.”

He turned around and smiled.

Rey hated how her heart was warmed by that smile, just as they were about to say goodbye.

It broke a damn in her own heart. If this was the end of them, she might as well get it all into the open. Her mistake with Anakin was leaving it all unspoken and tantalizing. She wouldn’t do that, not this time.

“Bogan, the Son— he wasn’t lying when he spoke about my feelings for you.” As soon as she started to speak, she knew she couldn’t stop. “I know I did this for Anakin, and you did this for Tenel Ka and Allana. . . But in every universe, every variation of the timeline, I’ve always loved you.”

Jacen’s smile faded.

“I’ve loved you, even though nothing ever came of it.” Rey hesitated now. “I know it’s stupid and I know I’m probably wrong— but if you care for me as much as I care for you. . . I’d like to give us a universe where we can try to be together.”

There was silence in the temple. Jacen approached her, his expression indecipherable, their connection nearly gone.

Then, to her surprise, he kissed her.

When they parted, he smiled sadly.

“I was willing to put it all aside,” he said. “Because I do love Tenel Ka as much as I love you— even though it is different. But I’m willing to try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

And so they walked into the Heart of the Galaxy, hand in hand, to fix what had been broken.


	10. Happy Endings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which all are saved.

Rey’s eyes opened. She lay in a field of grass— it was in the Lake Country of Naboo.

“Hey, Tahirey!”

Her heart ached for a moment— because that was the voice of Anakin Solo. Even when they weren’t romantic, he was still her best friend.

To hear his voice again made it all worth it.

She sat up, and saw him standing over her, offering his hand.

He was twenty years old, an age he had once never reached. Rey was numbly aware of this as she accepted his help up.

Memories of this world and what she had done to make it were still a little bit cloudy.

“Anakin,” she mumbled.

“Hey, you okay?” Force, she’d forgotten the way he smiled.

“I think I’m just a little tired.” That wasn’t quite true. In fact, she felt stronger than ever, and like a burden had been removed from her shoulders.

“I can understand.” He looked to the distant Varykino. “They’re waiting for you— your family.”

Rey couldn’t help the way her breath hitched. It was something she’d never had—

She started to run, her best friend alongside her once again. Even in this world, she had memories of saving the Massassi children in the jungles of Yavin IV, alongside him. And it was beautiful.

* * *

Out on the beach, by Varykino, there was a party occurring— it was Leia’s birthday, she faintly remembered. Everyone was sitting around as one large family, celebrating Leia and all the Skywalkers had done.

Even Anakin Skywalker and Padme Naberrie were there, gray-haired with the stars still in their eyes. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had joined them to discuss old times and glory days over a well-cooked meal.

The Naberries and Larses were there, too, enjoying the gentle sun and small talk about things like the weather and some stupid HoloNet stars.

Rey darted around Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker, who were embracing each other in a passionate kiss, much to the disgust of their teenage son, Ben.

Jaina was perched on a railing beside Zekk and Kyp Durron, the three of them bickering in the way that only the closest of friends could.

Han and Leia were in the center of it all, surrounded by countless friends and family. As in, Rey had actually lost track of all of them present.

Some of them were from the older timeline, some from the newer. But everyone was happy, and the war had long come to an end.

Sure, Rey remembered, Sidious and Snoke had snuck their ugly heads out. But they were squashed when they came up, and no heartbreak was left in their wake.

“Rey, you made it!”

She turned to see Poe Dameron, dressed in finery that he seemed a little uncomfortable in. Next to him, Rose waved. Finn and Tenel Ka Djo were in a deep conversation about monarchy-things, things Rey had never entirely understood.

“It’s nice to see you three here,” Rey said.

Rose’s voice dropped to a whisper. “We did it— I can’t believe—“

“It’s all so different,” Poe admitted. “But in a good way.”

“Are you three married?” Rey asked, noticing the rings on their fingers.

“The King Consort and Queen Consort to the King proper, or however it goes,” Rose confirmed. “I think it was recent.”

“I haven’t seen Jacen yet.”

“You should.” Poe squinted over the crowd of people, come to celebrate Princess Leia’s life. “He’s over there, with the water, by Allana.”

“Thank you.”

But still, a part of Rey doubted. Allana was Tenel Ka and Jacen’s daughter’s name.

Did they still remain apart from each other—

She looked to Anakin, quiet and pensive as ever, only to get dragged into a conversation with Poe.

She mustered a sympathetic smile, and he nodded her towards where Jacen was.

Her heart did not beat any more quickly, but she was more aware of it. It drowned out all else as she prayed, as she struggled to remember— did she fix this?

Jacen turned away from the water and smiled at her. “Rey, you’re here!”

He then looked to his daughter. “Your mum’s here. Show her what you found.”

It took Rey’s breath away as her daughter turned to face her, little iridescent shells in the palm of her hands.

Allana was their daughter, and stars, she was beautiful.

“Hi, sweetheart.” Rey knelt in front of her daughter. “You found these?”

“For Grandma Leia.” Allana had Han’s smile, the Solo smile, but she had her eyes—

Rey never knew she could love someone so much.

“Let’s go take them to her again,” Rey said, and she offered her hand to help her toddler walk over to Leia.

As they approached, Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso finished giving their wishes, before joining what remained of Rogue One.

“What have you got for me?” Leia asked, delighted to watch her first grandchild.

Allana placed the shells in Leia’s hand without another word.

“These are beautiful, thank you.” Leia then looked to Rey, and there was a knowing gleam in her eye. “You’ve done well, Tahirey.”

“Thank you.” Rey resisted the urge to cry, and instead leaned in for a hug. Leia did always give the best hugs.

“Thank you,” Leia whispered. “You saved them all.”

When they parted, Rey realized she had. As she took Jacen’s hand, she realized that she was the reason they would all live happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading Shatterpoint. I hope this was as cathartic for you to read as it was for me to write. I hope that wherever and whenever you are, that you are kind to those in your life. Love is the strongest force in the world, and I hope we can all wield it to be compassionate towards all. 
> 
> Sorry to get all sappy here. But this fic really has been a catharsis for many things in the Star Wars fandom.


End file.
